Aerosol spray cans which are filled with marking material, such as paints, dyes, and the like, are frequently used in marking traffic and parking lines on pavement, boundary lines on athletic fields, restricted areas on golf courses, and other indicators, both permanent and non-permanent. When using an aerosol container to produce such marks, it is often desirable to provide an actuator which has an elongated, e.g., rectangular, orifice. The use of such an orifice helps ensure that the material, when discharged from the container, provides a well defined stripe of the desired width.
If an actuator with an elongated orifice is used in conjunction with a movable device to provide a stripe, the actuator is typically oriented with respect to the spraying device such that the longest dimension of the orifice is oriented perpendicular to the direction of movement of the device. In that regard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,273 is said to provide an actuator and actuator-orientator base assembly which is able to provide such perpendicular orientation. Moreover, that combination is said to provide for the automatic orientation of the actuator, and thus the orifice, upon insertion of the actuator into the orientator. The actuator provided thereby is generally in the shape of a large cylinder, with lugs protruding from its perimeter. The orientator into which the actuator is inserted includes a generally tubular wall and a radially outwardly flared upper portion. About half of the tubular wall is recessed, or notched, such that four curved or spiral guide surfaces are provided therein. Those guide surfaces terminate in a pair of diametrically opposed rectangular recesses. When the actuator is inserted into the orientator, the lugs engage the curved guide surfaces; the weight of the container causing the lugs to slide downwardly along those surfaces. During this sliding, the can and actuator rotate to bring the lugs into alignment with the recesses. Upon such alignment, the lugs drop into the recesses, this preventing any further rotation of the actuator.
Another actuator and base which may be used in connection with marking devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,153. The actuator disclosed therein has two pairs of rectangular wings which extend outwardly from opposing sides of an actuator body. Upon insertion of an aerosol can having such an actuator into the base disclosed therein, the actuator is rotated into the desired position. The patent states that the corners of the wing portions may be rounded to facilitate the insertion and alignment of the actuator.
However, the actuator disclosed therein will not automatically rotate and orient itself when introduced into the base regardless of the initial, pre-insertion, orientation of the actuator. A certain degree of pre-insertion alignment of the actuator, toward its final orientation in the base, is required of the operator. Without such pre-insertion alignment, the wings of the actuator may become wedged with respect to the base such that the actuator is unable to rotate.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/987,583, filed Dec. 8, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,998 discloses yet another actuator, and a base configured to accept the actuator, which can be used in conjunction with a marking device. The base comprises a plurality of inclined planar surfaces which, upon complete insertion of the actuator in the base, function to laterally center the rectangular orifice with regard to the opening in the base. Such centering occurs irrespective of any dimensional imperfections present in the base and/or actuator. The actuator disclosed therein comprises at least one pair of wings wherein at least a portion of the bottom of the wings of the actuator angles linearly upward and away from the orifice. This configuration provides the aforesaid and other advantages when used in combination with the base. This actuator and base combination, however, also require a degree of pre-insertion alignment by the operator to ensure the proper final orientation of the actuator in the base.
Another aspect of operating a marking device is adjusting the device so as to achieve a smooth, uniform stripe of a desired width. Typically, adjustments are made by varying the distance between the orifice and the surface to be marked. However, that method requires moving the entire aerosol can holder into an appropriate position on the device each time one desires to produce a mark of a different width.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for an actuator and corresponding base which provide for the automatic proper orientation of the actuator, and as such the orifice, with respect to the base as the aerosol container is inserted into the base without regard to the initial orientation of the actuator with respect to the base and without requiring any manual pre-insertion orientation, or alignment, of the actuator by the user. There further exists a need for a means which would allow the width of a stripe of marking material to be easily varied, requiring a minimal amount of effort on the part of an operator.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.